My Birthday Wish!

My birthday is 3 days away..... September 13th! I have a very special wish this year and I hope and pray that you will make it come true!

But first, let me tell you about my great friend Stephanie. I met her when we moved to NC in 2005. Steph's mom introduced us because we were both somewhere in the process of adopting children. We bonded immediately and have become forever friends.

Stephanie has stuck with me through thick and thin, good and bad, and giggles and sobs. She prayed fervently and gave generously when we went to China to adopt Sam. I cried with her that she was still waiting for her daughter from Guatemala. I got to be there when the call finally came that she could travel to get her daughter. We screamed together and jumped up and down praising the Lord (we were at the zoo) while the people around us stared incredulously.

As medical issues have come up with my children, Stephanie was eager to learn and the first to offer to catheterize my one son, and stick needles (diabetes) in the other. Stephanie has always loved and nurtured my children as her own. She puts up with our quirkiness and loves us despite of it. She gives of her time, money, and energy, freely and generously to others. She's always there to listen and offer Godly wisdom. She puts up with my ranting and raving and gets me to laugh at life's circumstances. But most of all, Stephanie believes in me and has generously supported me as I follow God's call on my life.

My Birthday Wish is to do the same for her.

Will you help my wish come true?

Stephanie is leading a mission team for Caroline's Promise to Guyana, South America to a place called "The Plastic City". This team will partner with the Vreedenhoop Church to minister to children in the Plastic City community. They will read books, tutor them, and bring smiles to their faces. The team will also host a workshop for church volunteers, offering creative ways to teach children basic educational skills. In addition, they will spend time with the staff and children at Ruimveldt Children’s Home & Care Centre.

My birthday wish is to raise $820 towards Stephanie's trip!

Click on this link, then on Steph's name, you then can make your tax-deductible contribution online quickly and easily!! We have three days to make this happen!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping to make my birthday wish come true by giving back to a person who always gives so much of herself

for the sake of others!

Only $444 Needed!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! I am so grateful for your support of my upcoming Uganda trip with Africa Renewal Ministries!! Many of you have given generously and sacrificially and for that I am deeply moved and appreciative. God will bless you exponentially!

I am only $444 away from the $3,000 I have to raise for my trip! Praise God that my plane ticket has been purchased and my other expenditures have almost been met! I am getting so excited because God is working everything out, therefore I know He has BIG things in store for our team!

My plane takes off in two short weeks! Will you please help me raise the rest of what I need?? We can do this!!!

How do you help? ASAP - Call Sonia at the African Renewal office in Austin, TX and make your tax-deductible contribution over the phone! 210.979.7441 Please make sure you tell her to put it toward my trip (Kirsten Vogel).

If you'd prefer to send a check, you can send your tax-deductible contribution to:

Africa Renewal Ministries, PO Box 13733, San Antonio, TX 78213

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. ~Proverbs 22:9

Fundraising Update!

Here is the update I got yesterday: You helped me raise $200! Woo hoo! Thanks so much friends! I still need to raise another $1,000 by Monday! (See post below)

If you'd prefer to send a check, you can send your tax-deductible contribution to:

Africa Renewal Ministries, PO Box 13733, San Antonio, TX 78213

Just put my name in the memo line. Thanks friends!!!

Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

~James 1:27 (The Message)

Ain't Too Proud To Beg!

This week we successfully sent all four of our children off to school! To say we've had a tumultuous start is an understatement but I'm praising God that it's Friday and I've seen the end of the tunnel of school supplies, papers to sign, IEP's, diabetes care plans, talks with guidance counselors, etc. Whew! We're ready to be in the swing of things!

That brings me to the next chapter that's unfolding in my life. As you know I was invited to be the US Information Chairperson for Africa Renewal Ministries . You cannot imagine how excited I am to be on this adventure!!

I leave for Kampala, Uganda on September 14 and will return September 28. This training and orientation is not just another mission trip – I have been called by God and the ARM ministry to advocate, communicate, and share the Gospel through the personal stories and testimonies of the Ugandan people. Almost two years ago the Lord spoke to me through the words of Isaiah the prophet and I was called to “Go, swift messenger” (Isa. 18:2). Partnering with this ministry is a step of obedience toward fulfilling God’s calling on my life.

Quite often in ministry, you depend upon the financial support of friends, family, etc. to succeed in following God's calling. That's where I am today folks! I NEED YOUR HELP!!! So far I have raised $1,770 toward my travel expenses (plane ticket and on the ground accommodations, food, ministry, etc.) to Uganda (woo hoo!). The deadline for having $3,000+ turned in is August 30th! That's just three days away *gasp*!

It is imperative to my mission that I be on this trip to visit the ARM sites around Uganda and establish relationships with each site leader and the people whom they serve so I can adequately communicate and relay to you all the ways that God is working in and around Uganda. I will being "interviewing" staff members, orphans, widows, etc., and not only extending the love of Christ, but listening to their personal testimonies and bringing them back to you.

Bottom Line: I need to raise $1,200 in three days! Will you partner with me in ministering to the people not only in Uganda, but here in the U.S. as well?

If only 48 of you would donate $25 I will be packing my bags! If 24 of you could give $50, I'll sing "Leavin' on a Jet Plane", or if just 12 of you could give $100, I might even do those things on youtube. Either way, I'll jump up and down screaming and praising the Lord for His provision. And friends, I know things are tight everywhere... so even every $10 will add up!

How do you help? ASAP - Call Sonia at the African Renewal office in Austin, TX and make your tax-deductible contribution over the phone! 210.979.7441 Please make sure you tell her to put it toward my trip (Kirsten Vogel). If you get her voice mail for some reason, leave a message and she will get back to you!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I thank you in advance for being part of something far bigger than any of us could ask for or imagine!!

Another Chapter

As you may know, it's coming up on two years ago that God told me to "Go, swift messenger" (Isa. 18:2) to Africa. In this time the Lord has wowed me with all of the ways He has shown Himself and spurred me on with the ministry of ekissa and to love the poor, the widows, and the orphans in Uganda. He has never stopped calling me to fulfill this purpose that He has planned for my life.

Given that, it is time for me to resign from my board position with ekissa and step out in faith and along that path that He has laid out for me. I have been extended the opportunity to work strategically with Africa Renewal Ministries (ARM) http://www.africarenewal.org to help them with communication and social media within the US. John and I have prayed fervently about this and God is telling us that this is what He meant when He called me as a "swift messenger", as I will get the opportunity to witness and communicate on a regular basis how God is working in Uganda (and Africa) through the various projects that ARM has going on.

I thank you in advance for supporting me as a different chapter unfolds in my life! It is so exciting to know that God has ALREADY put all of these things into place and He has already intertwined hearts and lives and will have me continue to work toward furthering His Kingdom!

Until He Comes,

~KV